Hello from Chad

[chadshoemaker]

Hi. I'm Chad and I have a problem. Ooops wrong forum.. Anyway I'm a 40 something Dad living in Alabama and have had a pretty elaborate static Halloween and Christmas display for years. I have decided to venture into the world of pixel displays and am here for your teachings. I have lots of questions and can't wait to start the learning! Thanks for having me.

 

[algerdes]

Welcome Chad.
If I may suggest, start out with the 101 manual. It is pretty much the go to manual for getting a handle on this hobby.
You can find it under the "Home" icon above.
Ask questions!
If you decide to go the xLights route, there is a very active Zoom room with some very talented people ready and willing to help you.

 

[TerryK]

Hi Chad, welcome to ACL. Along with the 101 Manual that @algerdes mentioned, there is also the Chat Room and the Forum threads. The Forum is searchable and the Chat Room just about always has someone lurking there if not in a conversation.

 

[CargoLights]

Welcome Chad. Others already mentioned a lot of resources. I'll add that the chat room here is great for conceptual questions (just be aware that we're way more likely to push you to do something crazy than to try to talk you out of something). The xLights Zoom room is by far the best resource for solving a specific problem you are experiencing, or getting help setting something up. If you want some entertaining overview, almost everyone recommends Canispater Christmas on YouTube. If you just want to start a fire and sit back with your popcorn, be sure to ask whether 12V or 5V is better.

 

[merryoncherry]

The others mentioned a lot of good resources. I'd say the following for someone who's about to get started:
1. Decide what you want to add to your display / show. You can look at http://xlightsaroundtheworld.com/ for ideas, or look at other videos and blogs
2. Have some idea of budget (money and time). It will take a lot of time, even if / especially if you have a pile of money.
3. Seems like you want to do pixels, rather than keeping your A/C stuff, but if you want to keep the A/C stuff look at Light-o-Rama, Pixel2AC, or some of the other products out there
4. For pixels, I recommend just getting xLights and playing with it. You can learn a lot, and get all the way through to see how the show will look on your house, without buying anything
5. That said, while you have enough time to learn, order, receive, assemble, install, sequence, etc., and be running by December, the busy season is starting. A pixel show would need a controller; you can get controllers right now but some years they run out of key components or the lead times get high.

Don't do what I did and order a pile of stuff on Sept 26, run around learning on the fly, end up taking a couple weeks off work just to get it all going on Dec 17

 

[TerryK]

... you just want to start a fire and sit back with your popcorn, be sure to ask whether 12V or 5V is better.

Probably the #1 'hill to die on' debate. #2 likely 12 Volt Resistor versus 12 Volt Regulated pixels. #3, best method to implement power injection.

@chadshoemaker I too would reccommend the Canispater Christmas Youtube videos. More oriented to beginners in my opinion than other videos.